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I'm sorry, but welcome to the world of service jobs. Customers are rude. But to even hint that something even in the neighborhood of a reasonable reaction to someone being rude to a worker is for that worker to beat a woman, strangle her to death, and set the corpse on fire is abhorrent. She was rude to him? Boo hoo. A half-way reasonable person would simply walk out and leave her with whatever problem they went there to fix.
In this case? He had no record? Well, that more likely just means he's never been caught before.
I never said it was even remotely reasonable, just commenting that some people in this world are unnecessarily cruel. If someone in your house is already an edge case personality, verbally attacking them isn't the wisest thing. I think the problem is that more educated, wealth people tend to think everyone else is like them. They think the person will either take it or maybe verbally responded. In reality that is not the case. It's like poking a pit bull with a stick. Yes, it might do nothing or run away, or it will lung at you and rip your throat out. Common sense should tell you it is not a wise move. Then again, the odds are this woman never said a word to him and he is just a complete psycho.
I live in a place where violent crime is comparatively rare. I cannot conceive of taking all the precautions that some here stress are necessary for a woman when a serviceman comes to fix the washing machine. My wife and I lead a life where its necessary for us both to assume all kinds of responsibilities involved in managing and running a home (actually homes/plural). Occasionally, I now have my 20 year old son present to deal with the plumber, the cable tv guy, the electrician, and the furniture delivery people.
I guess terrible things occasionally do happen. Such is life. You can't live your life around events which are not much more likely than being struck by lightning or hit by a meteorite. Or, at least if you do, you must accept the notion of leading a diminished life. I'm not much more crazy about the idea of keeping a gun in the home. However, I'd encourage a woman to do that before I'd tell her to stop letting service people come to do necessary repairs.
Honestly, if I did live in a region of the country where things like this were more common, I'd probably move. Its just not worth living in such a place.
Mark, Where would you move to? Every single place in this world has crazies. They may not live right in the community but they do show up from surrounding areas. I live in a very expensive and well educated community, Chapel Hill, N.C. The president of the UNC student boy, Eve Carson
was brutally murdered by some thugs from Durham. Granted she had her home open during a warm spring evening and was not safety conscious but nobody expect anything like this in their community.
We take precautions, have alarm, 2 barking dogs, live in a great upscale neighborhood but still anybody hell bent on a crime will find a way.
Maybe this is a huge "niche" for some savvy women. "Women Handy "men"". I would prefer female electrician s and plumbers if I had a choice. And an all female crew for yard work too.
The issue there though....would women be safe going to a strange man's house to do work alone?
I'm sorry, but I would have no sympathy for someone whose reaction to being verbally belittled is to murder someone and then set them on fire to destroy evidence.
I don't know that anyone is demanding sympathy for these folks. I would advise being pleasant with people, if for only self-interested reasons. Whether it be a restaurant, a retail store or the workplace, sooner or later being a jerk will come back to bite you. There are numerous ways the people you've mistreated can exact revenge upon you. Believe me.
It looks like, from reading that article, that the man first had access to her home while selling a vacuum cleaner, but then he came back at a later time, and she let him into her home to use the telephone.
That was a near-fatal mistake on her part, in this case. She is lucky to have survived.
Mark, Where would you move to? Every single place in this world has crazies. They may not live right in the community but they do show up from surrounding areas. I live in a very expensive and well educated community, Chapel Hill, N.C. The president of the UNC student boy, Eve Carson
was brutally murdered by some thugs from Durham. Granted she had her home open during a warm spring evening and was not safety conscious but nobody expect anything like this in their community.
We take precautions, have alarm, 2 barking dogs, live in a great upscale neighborhood but still anybody hell bent on a crime will find a way.
Its true that anything is possible. The question is do you build your life around possibilities like your children may be the victim of an Al Quaeda terrorist attack while at their school? The risk of that event is quite low.
I say there has to be a rational component to life and that all of us should try to calculate what the real risk of an event is and act based on that.
My state, Utah, has the 45th lowest violent crime rate in America. Most of that crime is concentrated in areas where we don't live. When we get service on our appliances or require an electrician or plumber, we deal through reputable licensed companies.
Honestly, I do worry about things happening to us, but violent crime isn't high on my list. I worry much more about an injury or death in a car accident. Statistically, that would be much more common here. I also worry about heart attacks, strokes, and other diseases claiming us.
If people knew the real odds of being the victim of a violent crime and compared it with death or serious injury in an accident, they might realign their priorities. Accidents don't upset people much though. They don't affect our raw emotions, the way a homicide or rape does. They are the silent killers.
I don't ask that people not concern themselves with violent crime. I ask that we put in perspective and not be as hysterical as some get about it.
The issue could be dealt with fairly easily. If Jane is having her plumbing done, what a great day to have a "girls day." Get a few friends together and have some personal time when the plumber is there. Or have any friend there with you. When the person arrives, verify their name, employee number with their company.
I'm all for hidden video cameras too. Put them up where the person doesn't know they are there. Record your entire interaction. If all is well, erase it.
Make sure several friends know what company, etc is coming over and when. Don't leave these things too chance.
Moreover your own personal demeanor has alot to do with being attacked. If you act confident and assured, rarely will the suspect attack you. They will find someone else who is not self confident to attack.
And finally, if you look at the person and you get "that feeling," the hair stands up on the back of your neck, either don't let them in or pick up the phone, call 911 and tell them to leave. GO with how you feel; that gut instinct. I'd rather be alive and have pissed someone off, then dead trying to be "the nice guy."
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